[Appeal to reason]

I'm currently following SS, but I've plateaued in EVERYTHING right now.
I'd be fine with this, if it wasn't happening at such low weights.

Currently I'm at:
Squat: 100kg (only do this for 4 reps in the form video though)
Power clean: 45kg
Bench: 55kg (Have done 57.5kg before, but bouncing)
Deadlift: 95kg (THIS NEEDS TO BE LOTS HIGHER)
Overhead press: 35kg (37.5 1rm)

I think its my form causing this stalling in progress, so have recorded myself doing squats and powercleans. (Will record bench and DL next workout, don't care about OHP because I hate doing it anyway.)

I know my arms need to get higher in powercleans, and the bar needs to end in the rack position, but I can't actually get my arms in the position to do that.
Flexibility problem there?

[HFerguson]

That power clean form

1) Your not catching the bar in the rack position, you're catching it with your wrists. The bar should be resting on your delts in the "rack position". "Catching" it on the wrists is dangerous and poor form. Also in your catch position, your knees are too far forward, weight is on the forefoot, your back is hyperextended. You basically don't understand the movement you're trying to perform.

In the clean or powerclean, the power comes from the hip extensors, i.e. the glutes, NOT the lower back, you're pulling with your lower back and then reverse curling the bar. It's far from a power clean. In the 2nd pull (that's from above the knee up), you want the bar to slide up the thighs - there should be contact. You have no contact. Try doing some heavy romanian deadlifts - then you'll understand the movement being performed. You want to stick your arse back, have shoulders in front of the bar in the 2nd pull, tension on the hamstrings. When I watch your powerclean form, when the bar gets to your knee or just above, you let your hips drop, knees dart forward, back becomes too upright, and you lose all that tension on the posterior chain - basically throwing away all your power. Maybe you have tight hamstrings, it wouldn't surprise me.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...etabolic_swing

Read this - learn about the hip hinge. Arse back. I would link to some youtube videos teaching the power clean, but I don't believe a single good one actually exists.

In my personal opinion (and this is just opinion), I don't think beginners should be doing power cleans. People say they're not a very technical lift - I beg to differ, if you want to do em properly. Watching your powercleans at 40kg, it doesn't seem challenging to you, so if they're not a struggle, why bother doing em? This lift is somewhat about technical proficiency - the better your form, the more you can lift. At your strength level, you could probably add 20kg to your powerclean just in technique. Have a read about triple extension - this is what you want to be achieving. The olympic lifts are all about using the legs and glutes to create the force, and the arms are just there to transmit the force. No reverse curling. You pull the bar hard enough in the 2nd pull to accelerate it to the point of it having momentum, so that you may arrange your body around the bar. That's the way to think about olympic lifts - you're not moving the bar, you're moving yourself around the bar.

edit: **** it, have some Pyrros Dimas - watch how he extends the hip fully to accelerate the bar - no arms. The arms just whip around.



The squat aint too bad, but you obviously need some mobility work. You're hitting about parallel. I'll PM you my guide on squat mobility work because it's long as ****. Are you doing high bar or low bar squats? Do you know the difference? As far as I can tell, you bar position is high bar.

[silent ninja]

I'm sure you'll get lots of helpful advice, but I noticed you don't quite go low enough. You're going parallel rather than below parallel and that is gonna put a lot of strain on your knees. Also your reps seem a little quick? I'd control them a bit more. When you are squatting, don't think about bending your knees, just think about 'sitting' then lifting/pushing up leading with your butt. It's a butt (hip) movement.

Anyway, my two pennies worth. No expert.

[Vodka]

Starting Strength utilises the LOW BAR back squat, it looks like you are doing a HIGH BAR squat in your video, linear progression is much harder that way. At the bottom position you feet seems to 'flip' inwards a little, so your stance is a little too wide, aim for shoulder width stance with feet pointing out at approximately 30 degrees.

The powerclean should be in a single fluid motion, that means no stopping or hitching at mid thigh, your hip extension should be more aggressive, aim for your hips to be fully extended as the power will transfer the bar in a vertical motion instead of pulling it with your arms and jumping. Think of it like this, instead of thinking it as a jump during the second pull, the violent hip extension is so aggressive that your feet leaves the ground and accelerates the bar upwards. And learn to keep your elbows up during the rack position, even though it seems uncomfortable and unnatural at first, it's very critical at a later stage when the weights get heavier.

Something is DEFINITELY wrong with your deadlift, post a video form check to make sure, you deadlift shouldn't be lower than your squat...

I don't think you have read the Starting Strength book, get a copy, it is very very useful in terms of strength and powerlifting basics.

[Appeal to reason]

(Original post by HFerguson)
That power clean form

1) Your not catching the bar in the rack position, you're catching it with your wrists. The bar should be resting on your delts in the "rack position". "Catching" it on the wrists is dangerous and poor form. Also in your catch position, your knees are too far forward, weight is on the forefoot, your back is hyperextended. You basically don't understand the movement you're trying to perform.

In the clean or powerclean, the power comes from the hip extensors, i.e. the glutes, NOT the lower back, you're pulling with your lower back and then reverse curling the bar. It's far from a power clean. In the 2nd pull (that's from above the knee up), you want the bar to slide up the thighs - there should be contact. You have no contact. Try doing some heavy romanian deadlifts - then you'll understand the movement being performed. You want to stick your arse back, have shoulders in front of the bar in the 2nd pull, tension on the hamstrings. When I watch your powerclean form, when the bar gets to your knee or just above, you let your hips drop, knees dart forward, back becomes too upright, and you lose all that tension on the posterior chain - basically throwing away all your power. Maybe you have tight hamstrings, it wouldn't surprise me.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...etabolic_swing

Read this - learn about the hip hinge. Arse back. I would link to some youtube videos teaching the power clean, but I don't believe a single good one actually exists.

In my personal opinion (and this is just opinion), I don't think beginners should be doing power cleans. People say they're not a very technical lift - I beg to differ, if you want to do em properly. Watching your powercleans at 40kg, it doesn't seem challenging to you, so if they're not a struggle, why bother doing em? This lift is somewhat about technical proficiency - the better your form, the more you can lift. At your strength level, you could probably add 20kg to your powerclean just in technique. Have a read about triple extension - this is what you want to be achieving. The olympic lifts are all about using the legs and glutes to create the force, and the arms are just there to transmit the force. No reverse curling. You pull the bar hard enough in the 2nd pull to accelerate it to the point of it having momentum, so that you may arrange your body around the bar. That's the way to think about olympic lifts - you're not moving the bar, you're moving yourself around the bar.

edit: **** it, have some Pyrros Dimas - watch how he extends the hip fully to accelerate the bar - no arms. The arms just whip around.



The squat aint too bad, but you obviously need some mobility work. You're hitting about parallel. I'll PM you my guide on squat mobility work because it's long as ****. Are you doing high bar or low bar squats? Do you know the difference? As far as I can tell, you bar position is high bar.

I know I need to get the bar up into the rack position, but I find it hard to get my arms up there whilst I (attempt to) perform the movement.
Its true, I don't understand the movement, or where the power is coming from.
How can I bring it up my thighs whilst keeping my arms straight and with my back not upright?
I do have tight hamstrings, its a problem that affects me in taekwondo (making me very unflexible).

Do you suggest I do swings then? or just focus on the "arse back" bit?

I only do them as they're in starting strength. I feel like I could lift more, but whenever I attempt it the bar stops just below the chest. (This was what first made me realise I should check I was doing them right.) Whilst I'm doing them, it doesn't feel like I'm reverse curling though.


I'm doing high bar squats, but haven't really looked into low bar.

[cowsforsale]

Squats: Take a big breath and hold it for each rep. Push outwards with your abs and hard. Like others have mentioned, you should go a bit deeper. Youtube mobilitywod for examples of mobility exercises.

Here are some vids you might find helpful


Personally, I don't think Power Cleans are worth it if you don't have access to bumpers.

[Appeal to reason]

(Original post by silent ninja)
I'm sure you'll get lots of helpful advice, but I noticed you don't quite go low enough. You're going parallel rather than below parallel and that is gonna put a lot of strain on your knees. Also your reps seem a little quick? I'd control them a bit more. When you are squatting, don't think about bending your knees, just think about 'sitting' then lifting/pushing up leading with your butt. It's a butt (hip) movement.

Anyway, my two pennies worth. No expert.

I'll try go a bit lower next workout.
Any particular reason for controlling speed? Safety?
Push with my butt rather than legs? Okay, it seems my butt is the source of my problems in both exercises!

[stanmoor]

I'm a novice in all this, but if you are following SS then you need to do low bar squats. Also remember to break at the hips first rather than the knees. Apart from that I thought your squat looked good! If you're still struggling to increase your weights after a deload, then you're not eating enough.

Also, you say you don't care about the OHP because you hate doing it - it's still important to make sure form is right. You don't want a huge chest and **** shoulders!!

[Becca]

Squat generally isn't too bad, agree flexibility work is needed, but powerclean needs a lot of work. I'd suggest not trying to progress weight-wise on these until you massively improve your technique. It's a really hard lift to teach yourself and I agree with HFerguson that it's not really a lift for novices without coaching, but with a lot of reading and video-watching and practice you can definitely achieve something decent.

(Original post by Appeal to reason)
I know I need to get the bar up into the rack position, but I find it hard to get my arms up there whilst I (attempt to) perform the movement.
Its true, I don't understand the movement, or where the power is coming from.
How can I bring it up my thighs whilst keeping my arms straight and with my back not upright?
I do have tight hamstrings, its a problem that affects me in taekwondo (making me very unflexible).

Do you suggest I do swings then? or just focus on the "arse back" bit?

I only do them as they're in starting strength. I feel like I could lift more, but whenever I attempt it the bar stops just below the chest. (This was what first made me realise I should check I was doing them right.) Whilst I'm doing them, it doesn't feel like I'm reverse curling though.


I'm doing high bar squats, but haven't really looked into low bar.

For the rack position, you need to improve your shoulder and wrist flexibility, probably. Look at this video:

http://www.californiastrength.com/vi...-weightlifting

Also try just getting the bar in the rack and unracking it front-squat style. This is the rack position you need. I built up flexibility by unracking an (at the time) challenging weight in the front-squat position and just holding it. This is also a good core exercise if you like that kind of thing.

Also a video on general clean technique which is quite useful: http://www.californiastrength.com/vi...video-part-one

To keep the bar close into your body you need to retract your scapulae before starting the lift. So you pull your shoulders back, but get them over or in front of the bar, as in the vid cowsforsale posted. Also think about making sure your middle knuckles are pointing downwards, this can often help keep the bar close. Practise slowly raising the bar from the floor (no stopping as you do in your vids!), getting your knees out of the way, but keeping contact with your thighs, shoulders over the bar for as long as possible. Then when you reach the hip crease that's when you power the bar up by contracting the glutes and making contact with the bar. To prevent the bar being powered forwards in an arch by this explosion, you shrug with your shoulders and engage your lats to keep the bar into you and going nice and straight up. Then you WHIP YOUR ELBOWS ROUND and rack nicely. I capitalised that cos I have massive problems with getting my elbows round quick enough

Here are some more helpful things:



http://exrx.net/WeightExercises/Olym...owerClean.html

(Original post by Appeal to reason)
I'll try go a bit lower next workout.
Any particular reason for controlling speed? Safety?
Push with my butt rather than legs? Okay, it seems my butt is the source of my problems in both exercises!

I don't really need to comment much on squat technique as I don't think I can add anything to what's already been said. I do, however, agree that you look to be going a little fast. You want to be taking a BIG gulp of air before you lift, really bracing your midsection and lifting in a more controlled fashion, maintaining a tight core throughout the whole lift. Every rep, even warmups. Being mindful of how you lift will help you lift more weight, safely. Rushing a set can only result in injury. In your vids it looks like your legs are a bit...flaily (I don't think that's a word ). Concentrate on keeping your knees out and not letting them collapse in on you.

[Appeal to reason]

(Original post by Vodka)
Starting Strength utilises the LOW BAR back squat, it looks like you are doing a HIGH BAR squat in your video, linear progression is much harder that way. At the bottom position you feet seems to 'flip' inwards a little, so your stance is a little too wide, aim for shoulder width stance with feet pointing out at approximately 30 degrees.

The powerclean should be in a single fluid motion, that means no stopping or hitching at mid thigh, your hip extension should be more aggressive, aim for your hips to be fully extended as the power will transfer the bar in a vertical motion instead of pulling it with your arms and jumping. Think of it like this, instead of thinking it as a jump during the second pull, the violent hip extension is so aggressive that your feet leaves the ground and accelerates the bar upwards. And learn to keep your elbows up during the rack position, even though it seems uncomfortable and unnatural at first, it's very critical at a later stage when the weights get heavier.

Something is DEFINITELY wrong with your deadlift, post a video form check to make sure, you deadlift shouldn't be lower than your squat...

I don't think you have read the Starting Strength book, get a copy, it is very very useful in terms of strength and powerlifting basics.

I'm confused about my squat, some people say I need to go deeper, others (like you) are suggesting I need to go low bar. But I thought low bar stops you from going as deep?
I will narrow the stance though, thank you.

I'm not sure what you mean by hip extension though? Do you mean as I stand
up straight?

Yeah, I'll record bench and deadlift on saturday, as well as possibly trying some low bar squats (although it seems a really unnatural way of holding the bar).

I haven't, I will admit this. Though at £30+ it seems a bit expensive. I'll possibly get the kindle edition.

[Appeal to reason]

(Original post by Becca)
Squat generally isn't too bad, agree flexibility work is needed, but powerclean needs a lot of work. I'd suggest not trying to progress weight-wise on these until you massively improve your technique. It's a really hard lift to teach yourself and I agree with HFerguson that it's not really a lift for novices without coaching, but with a lot of reading and video-watching and practice you can definitely achieve something decent.

For the rack position, you need to improve your shoulder and wrist flexibility, probably. Look at this video:

http://www.californiastrength.com/vi...-weightlifting

Also try just getting the bar in the rack and unracking it front-squat style. This is the rack position you need. I built up flexibility by unracking an (at the time) challenging weight in the front-squat position and just holding it. This is also a good core exercise if you like that kind of thing.

Also a video on general clean technique which is quite useful: http://www.californiastrength.com/vi...video-part-one

To keep the bar close into your body you need to retract your scapulae before starting the lift. So you pull your shoulders back, but get them over or in front of the bar, as in the vid cowsforsale posted. Also think about making sure your middle knuckles are pointing downwards, this can often help keep the bar close. Practise slowly raising the bar from the floor (no stopping as you do in your vids!), getting your knees out of the way, but keeping contact with your thighs, shoulders over the bar for as long as possible. Then when you reach the hip crease that's when you power the bar up by contracting the glutes and making contact with the bar. To prevent the bar being powered forwards in an arch by this explosion, you shrug with your shoulders and engage your lats to keep the bar into you and going nice and straight up. Then you WHIP YOUR ELBOWS ROUND and rack nicely. I capitalised that cos I have massive problems with getting my elbows round quick enough

Here are some more helpful things:



http://exrx.net/WeightExercises/Olym...owerClean.html



I don't really need to comment much on squat technique as I don't think I can add anything to what's already been said. I do, however, agree that you look to be going a little fast. You want to be taking a BIG gulp of air before you lift, really bracing your midsection and lifting in a more controlled fashion, maintaining a tight core throughout the whole lift. Every rep, even warmups. Being mindful of how you lift will help you lift more weight, safely. Rushing a set can only result in injury. In your vids it looks like your legs are a bit...flaily (I don't think that's a word ). Concentrate on keeping your knees out and not letting them collapse in on you.

Its not like I could increase the weight with cleans anyway.

I think I'll have to do the stretch shown in the embedded video, as I don't actually have a gym partner who can press down on the bar for me.

Okay so:
Pull shoulders back.
Keep shoulders over/in front of bar.
Keep contact with thighs.
Push with hips, shrug with shoulders then whip elbows round.

I'm going fast on them because if I go slower I run out of breath before I'm back at the top.
I do take a big breath at the top, but its hard to take a full breath when you've got a heavy bar on your back.
When I'm doing my 20/40/60kg warm up sets it does feel like I rush them, but not so much with the heavier sets.
How do you mean flaily?
I don't really feel them collapsing in anywhere in the lift though

[Vodka]

(Original post by Appeal to reason)
I'm confused about my squat, some people say I need to go deeper, others (like you) are suggesting I need to go low bar. But I thought low bar stops you from going as deep?
I will narrow the stance though, thank you.

I'm not sure what you mean by hip extension though? Do you mean as I stand
up straight?

Yeah, I'll record bench and deadlift on saturday, as well as possibly trying some low bar squats (although it seems a really unnatural way of holding the bar).

I haven't, I will admit this. Though at £30+ it seems a bit expensive. I'll possibly get the kindle edition.

The reason that people is asking you to go lower is because you are doing a high bar squat(known as the olympic squat). With the bar on your traps, you'll have the leverage to squat deeper as your torso should be vertical instead of horizontal. Therefore in this case, you should be squatting all the way down (ATG - Arse to Grass)



However, you specified that you are doing Starting Strength. Starting Strength uses the low bar squat. The low bar squat places the bar above your scapulae which acts as a shaft if you retract your shoulder blades and keep your elbows up. The low bar squat enables a better leverage for you to squat more weight, but you torso will be slightly horizontal instead of vertical, therefore you are not able to go as deep as a high bar squat. Notice the difference in the back angle.




So if you are doing a low bar squat, you have to make sure your Hip joint drops below your knee joint.

A picture from the Starting Strength Wikia.

A is your hip joint, B is your knee joint.

Short, your squat depth will have to depend on what type of back squat are you doing.
High bar- ALL THE WAY DOWN
Low bar- AT LEAST PARALLEL

Power Clean

Hip extension is when you open your hip angle (or when you 'stand up' from the 'squatting' position). It have to be very very quick and powerful, so powerful that it even elevates your body.


Notice during the powerful hip extension, their heels came off the floor.

And oh, while power cleaning please remember to use the hook grip

[Vodka]

Also, you can check out this website about SS. http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ:The_Lifts

[Appeal to reason]

(Original post by Vodka)
The reason that people is asking you to go lower is because you are doing a high bar squat(known as the olympic squat). With the bar on your traps, you'll have the leverage to squat deeper as your torso should be vertical instead of horizontal. Therefore in this case, you should be squatting all the way down (ATG - Arse to Grass)



However, you specified that you are doing Starting Strength. Starting Strength uses the low bar squat. The low bar squat places the bar above your scapulae which acts as a shaft if you retract your shoulder blades and keep your elbows up. The low bar squat enables a better leverage for you to squat more weight, but you torso will be slightly horizontal instead of vertical, therefore you are not able to go as deep as a high bar squat. Notice the difference in the back angle.




So if you are doing a low bar squat, you have to make sure your Hip joint drops below your knee joint.

A picture from the Starting Strength Wikia.

A is your hip joint, B is your knee joint.

Short, your squat depth will have to depend on what type of back squat are you doing.
High bar- ALL THE WAY DOWN
Low bar- AT LEAST PARALLEL

Power Clean

Hip extension is when you open your hip angle (or when you 'stand up' from the 'squatting' position). It have to be very very quick and powerful, so powerful that it even elevates your body.


Notice during the powerful hip extension, their heels came off the floor.

And oh, while power cleaning please remember to use the hook grip

Okay, so which should I do, go deeper in high bar, or swap to low bar?
Personally, although I haven't tried it, I think low bar looks quite unnatural.

I understand, this would be the part in the video Becca posted where you drive your hips forward?

I haven't been using hook grip.

[silent ninja]

(Original post by Appeal to reason)
I'll try go a bit lower next workout.
Any particular reason for controlling speed? Safety?
Push with my butt rather than legs? Okay, it seems my butt is the source of my problems in both exercises!

As Becca suggested above, because you are doing them so fast you look a little unstable. Don't let the weight drop, you should control the weight down. I'm not suggesting you do it super slow but it's important in ALL exercises to have your muscles under tension for a reasonable length of time, even in the negative phase. Just don't let the weight drop, you should be under tension controlling every inch as you lower yourself.

Also your deadlift is lower than your squat which probably means you have a weaker lower back than you ought to have. This might explain why you find it difficult to keep your core solid/take a deep breath for a full repetition. I'm not sure though but I am sure that an improved deadlift will help your squat as well.

[Becca]

(Original post by Appeal to reason)
Its not like I could increase the weight with cleans anyway.

I think I'll have to do the stretch shown in the embedded video, as I don't actually have a gym partner who can press down on the bar for me.

Okay so:
Pull shoulders back.
Keep shoulders over/in front of bar.
Keep contact with thighs.
Push with hips, shrug with shoulders then whip elbows round.

I'm going fast on them because if I go slower I run out of breath before I'm back at the top.
I do take a big breath at the top, but its hard to take a full breath when you've got a heavy bar on your back.
When I'm doing my 20/40/60kg warm up sets it does feel like I rush them, but not so much with the heavier sets.
How do you mean flaily?
I don't really feel them collapsing in anywhere in the lift though

That's good for the clean, it's a lot to think about though. Definitely break the lift into stages and keep working on it - try just focusing on one thing at a time. It's a worthwhile lift to persevere on because it's a) an awesome exercise that trains both power, speed and strength and b) it's super fun. Probably my favourite exercise.

It's not that hard to take a full breath, you just have to train it every rep and get used to it - a BIG belly breath. If I can squat 90kg for reps with a big breath, so can you There is no way you'll be able to do the heavier weights without training your breathing.
By flaily I mean wobbly. You can see on the rear-view 80kg set they are kind of wobbling around. It's nothing major, I've seen much worse, but it's something to think about. 100kg is clearly not that challenging for you, but you will stall/fail reps if you let your knees collapse in and don't keep tight during the rep. Focus on keeping them pushed out and tracked over toes.

(Original post by Appeal to reason)
Okay, so which should I do, go deeper in high bar, or swap to low bar?
Personally, although I haven't tried it, I think low bar looks quite unnatural.

I understand, this would be the part in the video Becca posted where you drive your hips forward?

I haven't been using hook grip.

It's your choice, high bar is more quad-dominant and what olympic weightlifters use because it has more transfers to those lifts. You will be able to lift more weight with low bar, but it's a different technique to the one you're doing atm. I'd personally say do whatever feels natural. If you want to follow SS to the letter then do low bar, but if you try it and it feels unnatural then stick with high bar. You should be going lower if doing high bar though, so get training that flexibility (hips and hamstrings and quads and ankles!)
Also, I'd recommend trying out hookgrip asap as it can take a while for your hands to get used to it. Use it on your cleans and maybe on your deadlift warmups? You'll find it hard to clean heavier without it

EDIT: looking forward to seeing your deadlift video as as Silent Ninja said, that could give us some clues to help with squat as well.

[Old School]

(Original post by Appeal to reason)
x

So much bull**** in this thread (apart from Becca's and Hferguson's stuff).

OP:

Most of the people giving advice in this thread re your squat probably can't squat for **** themselves.

Speed on descent is fine. People who are telling you to slow it up are retarded. If you are in control of the weight then speed down isn't an issue. If it helps you get the weight back up again then speed down isn't an issue.

Depth is fine. Sure, you could go A2G if you wanted/had flexibility to do so/it felt comfortable. Otherwise, don't bother. Your squat would get white lights in a PLing meet therefore it is fine, and probably better than most of the keyboard warriors in this thread.

Your progress is stalling because you're not eating enough. Eat more. You need to gain weight.

I can't powerclean for **** therefore I can't/won't offer any advice on that front.

[Vodka]

(Original post by Old School)
So much bull**** in this thread (apart from Becca's and Hferguson's stuff).

OP:

Most of the people giving advice in this thread re your squat probably can't squat for **** themselves.

Speed on descent is fine. People who are telling you to slow it up are retarded. If you are in control of the weight then speed down isn't an issue. If it helps you get the weight back up again then speed down isn't an issue.

Depth is fine. Sure, you could go A2G if you wanted/had flexibility to do so/it felt comfortable. Otherwise, don't bother. Your squat would get white lights in a PLing meet therefore it is fine, and probably better than most of the keyboard warriors in this thread.

Your progress is stalling because you're not eating enough. Eat more. You need to gain weight.

I can't powerclean for **** therefore I can't/won't offer any advice on that front.

Any bull**** I've said that you would like to point out? I've squatted 130kg for reps when I was doing Starting Strength while weighing only at 62kg. If that's not good enough for you then fine. I've transitioned from low bar squatting below parallel to high bar squatting ATG when I started training Oly Style, so I think I know what I'm saying.

[Appeal to reason]

(Original post by Becca)
That's good for the clean, it's a lot to think about though. Definitely break the lift into stages and keep working on it - try just focusing on one thing at a time. It's a worthwhile lift to persevere on because it's a) an awesome exercise that trains both power, speed and strength and b) it's super fun. Probably my favourite exercise.

It's not that hard to take a full breath, you just have to train it every rep and get used to it - a BIG belly breath. If I can squat 90kg for reps with a big breath, so can you There is no way you'll be able to do the heavier weights without training your breathing.
By flaily I mean wobbly. You can see on the rear-view 80kg set they are kind of wobbling around. It's nothing major, I've seen much worse, but it's something to think about. 100kg is clearly not that challenging for you, but you will stall/fail reps if you let your knees collapse in and don't keep tight during the rep. Focus on keeping them pushed out and tracked over toes.


It's your choice, high bar is more quad-dominant and what olympic weightlifters use because it has more transfers to those lifts. You will be able to lift more weight with low bar, but it's a different technique to the one you're doing atm. I'd personally say do whatever feels natural. If you want to follow SS to the letter then do low bar, but if you try it and it feels unnatural then stick with high bar. You should be going lower if doing high bar though, so get training that flexibility (hips and hamstrings and quads and ankles!)
Also, I'd recommend trying out hookgrip asap as it can take a while for your hands to get used to it. Use it on your cleans and maybe on your deadlift warmups? You'll find it hard to clean heavier without it

EDIT: looking forward to seeing your deadlift video as as Silent Ninja said, that could give us some clues to help with squat as well.

So much to absorb! I might put some of this into a word document so I can have it with me at the gym.

I think I know what you mean about knees collapsing in a squat now, they didn't collapse in completely, but on tuesday I had to dump my last rep as I lost all tightness in my lift.

HFerguson's guide for stretching for squat mobility should help me get the depth I need, but I will try some low bar squats as well.

I'll use it on my deadlift warmup tomorrow.
I imagine there is a lot wrong with my deadlift haha

[AreebWithaHat]

(Original post by HFerguson)
That power clean form

1) Your not catching the bar in the rack position, you're catching it with your wrists. The bar should be resting on your delts in the "rack position". "Catching" it on the wrists is dangerous and poor form. Also in your catch position, your knees are too far forward, weight is on the forefoot, your back is hyperextended. You basically don't understand the movement you're trying to perform.

In the clean or powerclean, the power comes from the hip extensors, i.e. the glutes, NOT the lower back, you're pulling with your lower back and then reverse curling the bar. It's far from a power clean. In the 2nd pull (that's from above the knee up), you want the bar to slide up the thighs - there should be contact. You have no contact. Try doing some heavy romanian deadlifts - then you'll understand the movement being performed. You want to stick your arse back, have shoulders in front of the bar in the 2nd pull, tension on the hamstrings. When I watch your powerclean form, when the bar gets to your knee or just above, you let your hips drop, knees dart forward, back becomes too upright, and you lose all that tension on the posterior chain - basically throwing away all your power. Maybe you have tight hamstrings, it wouldn't surprise me.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...etabolic_swing

Read this - learn about the hip hinge. Arse back. I would link to some youtube videos teaching the power clean, but I don't believe a single good one actually exists.

In my personal opinion (and this is just opinion), I don't think beginners should be doing power cleans. People say they're not a very technical lift - I beg to differ, if you want to do em properly. Watching your powercleans at 40kg, it doesn't seem challenging to you, so if they're not a struggle, why bother doing em? This lift is somewhat about technical proficiency - the better your form, the more you can lift. At your strength level, you could probably add 20kg to your powerclean just in technique. Have a read about triple extension - this is what you want to be achieving. The olympic lifts are all about using the legs and glutes to create the force, and the arms are just there to transmit the force. No reverse curling. You pull the bar hard enough in the 2nd pull to accelerate it to the point of it having momentum, so that you may arrange your body around the bar. That's the way to think about olympic lifts - you're not moving the bar, you're moving yourself around the bar.

edit: **** it, have some Pyrros Dimas - watch how he extends the hip fully to accelerate the bar - no arms. The arms just whip around.



The squat aint too bad, but you obviously need some mobility work. You're hitting about parallel. I'll PM you my guide on squat mobility work because it's long as ****. Are you doing high bar or low bar squats? Do you know the difference? As far as I can tell, you bar position is high bar.

Could you pm methat guide as well please HFerguson as I think I need to work on this as well? Many thanks